Matthew Hoh sounds more like a professor of Asian history than anything. “The British and Russian occupations of Afghanistan were based on irrational fear and regional politics. The British thought Afghanistan could be a buffer state between Russia and India, when Russia had no designs on India whatsoever at that time. We’re making some of [...]

Matthew Hoh, the highest-ranking foreign service officer to resign his post in Afghanistan, says he completely understands US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry’s move to privately speak out against an escalation of forces, given the corrupt central government in place in the country. Hoh, the former Marine Corps captain who served in a civilian capacity in eastern [...]

I agree with Spencer Ackerman that this is a big deal – a Foreign Service officer with previous experience in the Marines has resigned his post in Afghanistan, specifically in protest over the war, which he claims “fuels the insurgency.” “I have lost understanding of and confidence in the strategic purposes of the United States’ [...]